December 9th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The Jieng Council of Elders has warned President Salva Kiir against reduction of number of states as demanded by opposition groups.
Kiir’s government and opposition groups signed a peace deal last year in hope to end the war which has been ongoing for six years. There has been dispute on how many states should be there during the pre-transitional period.
While the government wants the current 32 states to remain, the opposition see it as a recipe for a further civil conflict which maybe tribal in nature given the negative implication of the 2015 decision of the president to divided the country.
The agreement provided for resolution of the dispute before the foes could form a unity government. The issue has however paralyzed the peace process because none of the parties is willing to compromise – especially the government – on the issue.
Speaking to Nyamilepedia this afternoon, a government source in Juba said Kiir met with members of the Jieng Council of Elders on Friday and the tribal group warned the head of state against making mistake to accept the reduction of the states as demanded by the opposition.
“They met the president and their position is very clear. They told him ‘look, don’t make mistake on the state issue to accept the reduction,'” the government official said.
“As a matter of fact, this issue will cause unprecedented chaos in out country. The reverse of the states is not easy.”
